Northern Australia Water Resource Assessment (NAWRA)

Project overview

The CSIRO investigated 3 priority river catchment areas. These were across Western Australia (WA), Northern Territory (NT) and Queensland (Qld):

• the Fitzroy catchment (WA)
• the Finniss, Adelaide, Mary and Wildman river catchments (NT)
• the Mitchell catchment (Qld).

Goals of the assessment

A lack of data has limited information about water potential for agriculture in northern Australia. This project assessed identified areas in northern Australia. Information and data were captured to better inform agricultural investment. More than 100 experts developed innovative methods to assess large areas.

Assessment outcomes

This assessment measured:

• available soil and water resources
• opportunities for water storage
• viability of agricultural opportunities
• environmental, social and economic impacts and risks.

The project outcomes include:

• reports on each area assessment
• digital soil mapping
• landscape suitability mapping
• crop suitability maps
• large scale models of flooding, rivers and ecosystems to assess the reliability of water extraction
• satellite mapping for flooding, persistent water holes, evaporation and surface to groundwater interactions
• assessed water extraction methods and potential impacts of irrigation on groundwater levels
• development of a number of web-based interactive data applications:
  • NAWRA-explorer: interactive data visualisation tool to complement full catchment reports
  • River Model app: enables the user to explore the reliability at which water can be pumped, diverted or captured and how these extractions may impact river flows downstream
  • Climate app: allows users to explore Australia-wide climate data over a time period of 120 years.

Environmental and cultural considerations

The project included extensive collaboration with local First Nations communities to build a collective understanding of their values, rights and interests in development.